


Maybe I Should Stop and Start Confessing

by strawbsnbloobs



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Love Confessions, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-17 20:23:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11858994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawbsnbloobs/pseuds/strawbsnbloobs
Summary: ~o~“Humans.”  Plagg shook his head.  “Kid, I can feel that girl making goo-goo eyes from all the way inside your bag.”“But we’re just friends!” he protested.  “I love Ladybug!”“Iknow,” complained Plagg.  “Your shower isn’t soundproof.”A deep red overtook Adrien’s cheeks.  “Shut up.  I’m gonna have to hurt my friend’s feelings and you don’t even care.”With a groan, Plagg flew over to hover in front of Adrien’s face.  “Fine.  I’ll bite.”Adrien flinched away.“Oh sweet baby Cheesus, you’re so dumb."~o~In which Marinette's friends have good intentions, Plagg is a little shit, and you should be careful what you wish for.(A love square reveal fic.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Shawn Mendes _There's Nothing Holding Me Back_ , because it's so LadyNoir I die.

“Dude.”  Nino’s voice preceded his beckoning hand from around the corner.  “Over here.”

Adrien looked over his shoulder before ducking behind the building to find his friend slouched against the brick.

“Nino?  What is it?”

Nino took off his cap and ran his hands through his curls before replacing it.  “Dude… I’m not even sure I should be telling you this.”  He chuckled drily.  “Alya’s gonna murder me.”

Concern began to ping at Adrien’s senses.  “What?  Why?  Are you in trouble?”

“Nah.”  Nino grinned, but it was off.  “Okay.  You know how Marinette gets a little loco around you?”

“I’ve noticed,” he smiled.  Even after two years of tangential friendship, Adrien still couldn’t figure out what made Marinette tick.  The way she acted around him was markedly different to her behavior around Alya and Nino; luckily, she was so cool around everyone else that he’d decided early on Marinette was awesome.  “Why?  Is she okay?”

“Yeah…” Nino didn’t sound convinced.  “Here’s the thing.  I heard her and Alya talking, and Marinette’s gonna ask you out.  Tomorrow.”

Adrien felt his mouth fall open, but could only stare at his friend, who despite his usual easygoing attitude, seemed as close to concerned as he ever got.

“She’s been crushing on you since day one,” Nino said.  “I don’t know what Alya did to convince her, dude, but it’s definitely going down this time.”

Adrien forced his mouth to work.  “Uhh…”  (Unfortunately, his brain was still out of commission.)

“Shyeah, if she even knew I was telling you this…”  Nino’s eyes went wide.  “They’re gonna be pissed at me for ditching bro code, but like, I love you, man, but Mari’s been my solid dude since we were kids.”

“Right.”  Adrien’s brow furrowed.  “Marinette’s great.”  Did Nino think he disagreed?

“Exactly!”  Nino let out a relieved breath.  “And, no offense dude, but you’re not always the best with stuff like this.  I just don’t want you to get put on the spot and say something that’s gonna mess her up.”

Adrien frowned.  “You know, girls have asked me out before.”  It was one of the dubious perks of being a famous model.

“Yeah, and you get weird about it every time.  Plus you’re stuck on Ladybug, man.”  At Adrien’s expression, he raised his hands.  “It’s chill.  I mean, I think it’s pretty dumb to pass on someone like Mari, even for a superhero, but you do your thing.”

Adrien stared.  “I thought you were over Marinette?”

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wanna date her, damn.”  Nino rubbed at the bridge of his nose, knocking his glasses askew.  “Just let her down easy, okay?”

With that, Nino clapped him on the back and sauntered off, fingers tapping against the headphones around his neck and acting for all the world like he _hadn’t_ just tilted Adrien’s entire world a few inches to the right.

 

~o~

 

“What do I do, Plagg?”  Adrien wailed, throwing himself onto his bed.

The kwami’s head poked up over the rim of the trash can.  “Why’re you asking me?”

“Who else can I ask?  No one knows I’m Chat Noir, so they don’t get why I’m so in love with Ladybug.”

“Sorry, kid.”  Plagg tossed a wedge of Camembert into the air, gulping it down whole.  “What I meant was, why would I wanna talk about girls?  Eat some cheese.”  He stilled.  “Actually, don’t.”  His tone turned warning.  “Keep outta my stash, you got it?”

Adrien threw a balled-up sock at the tiny cat.  “Can you just, help me out for a _minute_?”  He dragged his hands over his eyes.  “I almost wish Nino hadn’t said anything,” he sighed.  “What  am I supposed to tell Marinette?  What if she really likes me?”

Plagg snickered.  “You can’t tell?”

“What?”  Adrien squinted accusingly.  “What can’t I tell?”

“Humans.”  Plagg shook his head.  “Kid, I can feel that girl making goo-goo eyes from all the way inside your bag.”

“But we’re just friends!” he protested.  “I love Ladybug!”

“I _know_ ,” complained Plagg.  “Your shower isn’t soundproof.”

A deep red overtook Adrien’s cheeks.  “Shut up.  I’m gonna have to hurt my friend’s feelings and you don’t even care.”

With a groan, Plagg flew over to hover in front of Adrien’s face.  “Fine.  I’ll bite.”

Adrien flinched away.

“Oh sweet baby Cheesus, you’re so dumb.  Go ahead.  Tell me why you have to hurt short-girl’s feelings.”

“Uhhh…” Adrien stared at him like he’d grown wings.  “Because?  Nino says she’s in love with me?  And if I tell her that I love Ladybug, she’ll think I’m blowing her off for a celebrity crush.”

“So say you’re too busy to date, or that your dad won’t let you.  Isn’t that the line you normally feed your fan club?”

“Yeah, but Marinette’s different.  She’s so sweet, and caring, and generous…”  Adrien hugged his pillow.  “She deserves more than the usual excuses.”

Plagg snorted.  “Really?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Adrien shot back.  “Marinette’s smart.  She’d see through me in a minute.  She’s pretty good at knowing how her friends are feeling.”

“Huh.”  Plagg plopped down onto the comforter.  “Sounds like _you_ have a crush.”

“Yeah…”  Adrien trailed off.  “What?  No!”

“I dunno, kid.  You were making a stupider-than-usual face just now.  And you just listed like nine things you like about this girl.  Maybe you should try going out with her.”

Adrien’s eyes bugged.  “Haven’t you been listening to me?  I can’t go out with her!  I’m in love with—”

“Laaaadybug,” Plagg mocked.  “And how’s that working out for you?”

“Uhh, _amazingly_?  She and I are best friends, so.  Hashtag-goals.”

Plagg shrugged.  “Then go out with both of them, who cares?”

Adrien gasped, offended.  “Plagg, even if my Lady never returns my affection, and even if maybe Marinette’s really cute, if I went out with her, it’d be like— like there was a Ladybug-sized hole in my heart.”

Plagg deadpanned, “Ladybugs are tiny.”

“Ugh,” Adrien peeved, rolling over so he didn’t have to look at his kwami.  “What do you even know?  The only holes you care about are in Swiss cheese. ”

“Don’t be gross.”

“I didn’t mean like a sexual thing!”

“Keep your dick out of my cheese, Adrien.”

“Oh my God!”

Adrien pulled the covers over his head, determined to ignore Plagg if he wasn’t going to be helpful.  Seriously, he was going through a crisis here, and all his Pagg could talk about was cheese.  Well, cheese and how he should date Marinette… so _that_ was weird.  

It wasn’t as if he disliked Marinette.  Sure, they’d had a rocky start, and it took him a while to truly convince himself they _were_ friends, because she was always so jumpy around him.  And, okay, he didn’t get to talk to her as much as he’d prefer, because every time he did, she usually ended up barking out some wacky compliment, turning beet-red, and skedaddling.  Which was fine!  While he wished Marinette would open up to him and relax, he’d accepted her nerves and flailing arms as simply part of her personality.  Really, if he could stay friends with Chloe despite her, uh, eccentricities, liking Marinette presented zero challenge.  And a good friend didn’t pick and choose, anyway.   _Winnie the Pooh and Tigger don’t spend their time wishing Eeyore would liven up._

It was more like, he’d just never thought of her like that.  Why would he, when he’d been eyes-on-the-prizing his Lady for the past couple years?  He was a gentleman, damn it.  But now here was Nino, telling him about this huge thing that apparently he’d never noticed, and it was messing with his head.  

He couldn’t just _go out_ with Marinette because she asked.  Could he?  He’d never actually been asked out by a friend before — except for Chloe, and she was so intense it was more _demanding him out_ than asking — and he did value his relationship with Marinette.  What if turning her down ruined it?

Or, what if he didn’t turn her down?  Sure, she could get a little odd at times, and maybe they relied a bit too much on Alya and Nino to provide a conversation buffer, but Adrien was sure they could have fun on their own, too!  And it’d be a great chance to get to know her better.

 _But Marinette doesn’t want to go out as friends_ , whispered his conscience.  If Nino was to be believed, she was full-on in love with him, and treating the date casually might end up hurting her just as much as saying no in the first place.

 _What’s the point?_  This was all moot, Adrien reminded himself glumly, because as wonderful as Marinette was, there was no way she could unseat his best friend, his partner, the woman he would die for (and sort of had, a few times).  And speaking of Ladybug…his eyes snapped to the wall clock.

“Oh, crap!  Patrol!”

“Aw, c’mon,” wheedled Plagg.  “Isn’t that optional?”

Adrien shot him a glare and ran over to the window ledge.  Plagg phased into the minifridge and emerged a second later.  

“We haven’t even finished our conversation!” he argued, juggling three foil-wrapped triangles.  “See, I care!  Why don’t you tell me more about your girl troubles…”

“Plagg, claws out!”

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

“Bug?  Got a minute?” he drawled.  Red-faced and out of breath after patrol, they’d stopped to rest at the most scenic spot in Paris.  Gazing out at the City of Love, laid before them like a twinkling picnic blanket, Chat couldn’t help the way his thoughts turned to his romantic life.  “I have need of your womanly perspective.”

“This better not be a setup for a pun.”

Well, it _hadn’t_ been, until she said that.  “My Lady!  I would ne- _fur_.”

He grinned through the ensuing shove, then waited another beat before continuing.  “I really do need your input on something, though.  I’m just not…”  He scratched at the base of one of his cat ears.  “Not sure how to bring it up, I guess.”

“Does it have to do with our identities?”

“No?  I mean, except in the sense that everything does.”

“Well, then out with it, Chaton.  I still have a speech to prepare tonight.”

He let out a deep breath.  “Uh, well.  I recently found out that one of my friends…”   _Oh, god._  Was she going to think he was bragging?  That he was trying to make her jealous?  Not that he would mind if she got jealous over him… but he didn’t want her to think he was aiming for that.

“Chat?  Sometime this year would be good.”

“Right.  So apparently, this awesome girl I’m friends with has a crush on me.”  At her immediate eyeroll, he realized what he’d sounded like.  “I _swear_ that’s not a pickup line.”

Her lips twitched in fondness.  “Okay,” she conceded, “but still.  You say that like half of Paris doesn’t have a crush on you.”  
“Those are strangers, though.”

She nodded.  “I get that.”  Ladybug regarded him speculatively.  “So how do you feel about this friend?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.  “She’s sweet.”  

“Is that your type, Catsanova?” she asked.  “Sweet?”

“Actually?”  He hummed, his eyes trailing over Ladybug’s face.  “Huh.  I think if I had a type, she’d be it.”  He leaned back on his hands, claws digging slightly into the metal beam.  “I guess I just, don’t know her all that well?  Everything I _do_ know about her, I like,” he rushed to add.  “But, it’s hard to explain.  I feel like I can’t get a read on her.  She’s totally different around me than everybody else.”

Ladybug’s eyebrows went up in mild alarm.  “Kind of how Chloe acts like a stuck-up bully, except when she’s fawning all over A—ahh, us?”

Chat smirked.  “Us?  Chloe’s superhero crush is all you, Bug.”

“Lucky me,” Ladybug grumbled.  “You should be careful around people like that, Chat.  If your friend seems to have two personalities, she might not be genuine.  She might even be trying to manipulate you somehow.”

“No.”  He frowned.  “She’s nothing like that.”

“Are you sure?  Because sometimes you’re a little too trusting.”  Her jaw set.  “If she’s not showing you her true self—”

“Ladybug,” he broke in.  “She’s a good person, okay?  That’s not what’s bothering me.”

“Okay.”  She crossed her arms.  “Enlighten me, then.”

This was not going the way he’d expected.  “I like a different girl.”

“Another girl?”  She whistled.  “Well, aren’t you a roving tom?”

“It’s not like that.”  He plowed ahead.  “I’m worried that even if I am interested in the first girl, it’d be unfair to try to date her if I’ve got a crush on someone else.”

“So?  Ask out the girl you like more.”

His hand came up to the back of his neck.  “I wish I could.”

“What’s the matter?  She heard one of your puns and ran for the hills?”

“Haha.”  His head dropped, and he let out an unintelligible mumble.

“In French this time, kitty.”

He sighed.  “I’m _scared_.  Of what she’d say.”

“Chat.”  Ladybug put her hand on his forearm and looked him in the eye.  “Either she says yes, and you have a new girlfriend, or you find out you have no chance.”

He barked out a bitter laugh.  “Nice to see you’re so casual about me getting my heart stomped on.”

“Says the guy who lets akumas literally stomp on him,” she teased, and it was easy to respond in kind.

“ _Let_ them?”  He wagged a finger.  “No way that gets my _stomp_ of approval.”

“Okay, tough guy.”  Ladybug pursed her lips.  “Look, it’s no fun being rejected, but at least then you can start to move on.  Right?”

He shrugged.

“And besides!” she encouraged.  “Probably, she likes you back!”

He perked up.  He hadn’t _necessarily_ started off his line of questioning with the intent to confess, but maybe… “Yeah?”

“Sure!  You’re a superhero, and…” she waved aimlessly, “... tall?”  She scrunched her nose.  “Sorry!  My kwami’s way better at encouragement.”

“No kwami could be more amazing than you, my Lady.”  

“You know,” she singsonged, “if you’re going to be involved with all these different women, you might want to dial the pet names back a notch.”

There it was, the perfect opening.  “Only if I get to call you my girlfriend instead, Buginette.”

She laughed it off, booping his nose.  “Incorrigible cat.  At least promise you’ll stop flirting once you actually start dating.”

 _Oh, man._  Was he ever this oblivious?  “What if I’m dating you?”  He batted his eyelashes.

Her eyeroll was strained this time.  “Dream on, kitten.  And speaking of dreams,” she unhooked her yo-yo and turned to go, “I’m getting kinda sleepy—”

“Ladybug.”  He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.  “I’m serious.”

She was facing away, but he heard her utter a small, “What?”

“You told me to ask the girl I like best, so that’s what I’m doing.”  He let his hand trail down her arm until their fingers tangled.  “So,” he chuckled awkwardly.  “Do I have any chance at all, or should I go crawl into a bucket of chocolate ice cream and eat my feelings?”

She exhaled, one long, regretful whoosh, and turned back to him.  “Your timing could definitely be better.”  Her mouth twisted wryly.  “I don’t suppose I could take a day, and let you know tomorrow?”

 _Anything!  Take as much time as you need!_  The words were on the tip of his tongue when he realized that if he was going to figure out the tangle inside his head, it needed to be tonight.  Marinette deserved a straight answer.  And, if he was being honest with himself, so did he.  

“I think after two years, my Lady, you must have some idea of how you feel.”

She pulled her hand from his grip, biting the inside of her cheek.  “Even if I…”  She shook her head.  “We’re superheroes!  It’s completely, it’s, it would never work!  I thought you understood that.”

“You’re my best friend,” he implored.  “Don’t people always say you should date your best friend?”

“I don’t think those people meant _when you don’t actually know who your best friend is_!”

“That’s not fair,” he pouted.  “I know you.  And I know I love you.”

“Chat, that’s…”  She rubbed at her eyes, sighing.  “We can’t risk it.  If we… we’d get careless, or be tempted to share our identities, or what if we have a fight and we mess up because of it?  That puts Paris — _everyone_ we love — in danger.  It’s not just about us.”

“So we pretend nothing’s different.”  His tail flicked anxiously against the metal beam by his feet.  “We’re pretty great at keeping secrets by now.”

“More lies?” she scoffed.  “Great foundation for a new relationship.”  She chewed at her lip. “And besides, how would we even…”  Her voice lowered.  “The suits don’t even come off!”

“I don’t care about that!” he protested.  “I could live without ever getting… _physical_ , as long as I get to be with you.  As long as I know you’re mine, in or out of the suit, that’s all I want.”

“But that’s not all I want, Chat,” she apologized, wringing her hands together.  “I wonder sometimes, if things were different, what we’d be to each other, but…”  Hurt creased her brow as she took in his expression.  “It’s not so bad, right?  The way things are with us now?”

The need to reassure her overtook, at least temporarily, the sting of rejection, and with a heavy heart, he squeezed her shoulder.  “No, Bug, it’s not so bad.”  He let a long breath.  “Uh, thanks for being honest with me, I guess.”  He tried very hard to keep from sounding bitter.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t—”

“Don’t be.  It was a longshot.”  He put on a smile.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah?”  She shifted on her feet, then put her hand over his where it lay on her shoulder.  “It’s okay to be upset, if you need time, or—” she floundered, “if you want to do separate patrols for a while, um…”

“What?”  His gut recoiled at the idea of even the slightest separation.  His next thought, though, was that his clinginess was the exact reason he should dial things back with Ladybug.  At least enough to process all of this.   _And speaking of letting go…_ He dropped his hand from her shoulder.  “Uh, yeah.  Maybe just for a few weeks.”

“Oh,” she startled.  “Weeks?  Wow.”  She toyed with her yo-yo.  “Okay.  Yeah, that’s… that’ll free up some time, too, which is…  good?  You always seem so busy.”

“I keep on my toes,” he agreed.   _But I’m never too busy for you, Bugaboo_ .  He stopped himself from saying so out loud, hunting for a change in topic.  “So you never told me what you think I should do.”

“With your free time?” she asked blankly.

“About my friend.  The, uh…” _The one who actually wants to date me._  “The confusing one.”

“Ah.”  Ladybug’s eyes darted everywhere but his face.  “Is that something you really want my advice on?”

He chuckled gruffly.  “How pathetic does it sound to say you’re the only girl I can ask?”

“Aw.”  She patted his arm a bit awkwardly.  “Yeah, I only have one friend I go to for this kind of stuff, too.”  Ladybug leaned against a vertical beam.  “But you know I’m just going to after-school-special it, don’t you?”  At his furrowed brow, she spelled it out.  “Follow your heart.  Believe in yourself.  The magic was inside you all along.  Or, I guess, in our case the magic was inside our miraculouses.”

That was not helpful.  “Okay, but what do I do if she asks me out?”

“I can’t tell you that, Chat.”  She shrugged.  “I mean, she sounds kinda flighty to me, but if _you_ like her…”

“I might?”  He closed his eyes, needing to say something but not wanting to sound as vulnerable as he felt.  “It’s just… I’d never want to replace you.  And I don’t think I could.”

“Oh!  Well, that’s easy.”  His eyes opened to find Ladybug staring at him matter-of-factly.  “I mean, unless she’s secretly working for Hawkmoth.”

Chat gaped.  “What.”  Where had _that_ come from?

“Is this girl planning to steal my Miraculous and take over my superhero duties?”

“… No?”

“Then she won’t replace me.  Simple as that.”  Her fingers came up to tap at his bell.  “Look.  No matter what, we’re partners, and that’s not going to change.  Not ever.”

“What about after we defeat Hawkmoth?”

“Please.  You think Paris is gonna stop needing heroes just because we took care of one overpowered drama queen?”  She bumped her shoulder to his.  “We’re gonna be around for a while.”

The vise around his heart loosened a fraction.  “Thanks, Bug.”

“Don’t mention it.”  Ladybug stretched her arms over her head.  “I do still have a lot to do tonight, though, so…”  

As he watched her ready her yo-yo, he suddenly cursed himself for agreeing to separate patrols.  Who knew when he’d see her next?  He had _two_ actual friends; what was he thinking?  

“Uh, Ladybug!” he called, before she could swing away.  “About splitting up patrols—”

“Right!  Same schedule as before?”

“No, that’s not—  I was going to say, maybe we don’t have to—”

“It’s okay, Chat!”  She sent him a small smile.  “I’ve been swamped lately, anyway, so a break’ll be good.”  She nodded reassuringly.  “See you at the next akuma?”

His insides jumbled together.  She didn’t want to hang out with him.   _And why would she, after you made everything weird._  He forced himself to raise two fingers in a familiar salute.  “Yep!   _Cat_ -ch you on the battlefield, Bugaboo!”

With far more energy than he felt, Chat sprang onto his baton and vaulted home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want a sweet, spicy lovesquare omelette (one of your three love _square_ meals a day!) sometimes you gotta break a few eggs, my dudes.
> 
> :D That said, I don't anticipate things getting super angsty in this fic. Any angst that pops up will undoubtedly be in service of fluffy romance.


	3. Chapter 3

 

“Alya, I can’t do it.  I can’t do it!”  Marinette whisper-shrieked from behind the low wall outside the school.

“Girl, of course you can!” Alya insisted fondly.  “He’s gonna say yes!”

“Not if I throw up all over his shoes!”

“Stop doubting yourself!” Alya encouraged.  “C’mon, I see his driver.  He’ll be coming out soon.”

“New plan,” meeped Marinette.  “How about I spend today screaming into a pillow, and ask him out tomorrow?”

“Today is the _day_ , Mar!”  Alya nodded excitedly.  “The boy was checking you out all afternoon!  He’s finally figured out what a babe you are!”

“It wasn’t like that!  He was just staring at me!”

“Because you’re totally hot!”

“But he seemed… nervous?”  Marinette’s face turned red as she remembered Adrien’s unusual behavior earlier.  “Please don’t make me ask him.”

“Girl, do you remember when I ‘forced’ you to take down that creepy shrine?  You fought me on that too, remember?”

“Yes,” Marinette conceded.

“And why did we do that?”

“To help me see Adrien as less of a model and more of a person,” she recited glumly.

“Exactly!  And it _worked_ .  Well… at least you can sit at the same table as him now!” 

Marinette let out a whine. 

“See?  Sometimes you need a push, Marinette.”

“But what if it’s all wrong, Alya?  I was just thinking last night; remember when Nathanael had a crush on me?”

“Duh.  He got akumatized over it.”

“But what if there’s a guy like that, a super sweet guy who really likes me, and I’m throwing away any chance I have!”

Alya groaned.  “Hold the phone.  You suddenly realized you like Nathanael?  Are you kidding?  He moved to Switzerland last year, Mar.”

“Not him, specifically!  Just, what if there’s some other guy, maybe I already love him as a friend but I ignored his romantic potential because he’s just so annoying, you know?  Someone—”

“Annoying?  Like _Kim_ ?” 

“—that I’m not so shy around, someone I’m close to.  He could be the perfect man for me, and I’d never see it.”

“A guy close to you?”  Alya faltered.  “Nino…”

“No!”  Marinette almost dropped her sketchbook in her haste to ward off that assumption.  “No, not Nino, obviously.”

“Okay, well then who?”  Alya crossed her arms, disapprovingly.  “Girl.  Don’t pretend this is anything other than cold feet.”

Marinette pouted.  “I’ve been trying to ask Adrien out for years, Alya.  What makes you think I can do it now?”

“For real?  Because I’m your BFF, and friends don’t let friends go their entire lives pining over someone when they actually _have a shot_.”

“Alya…”

“No, look.”  Alya regarded her sternly.  “You need to learn to talk to him, one way or another.  I’ve been watching you do this for years, and _you_ might be fine living in Will-They-Won’t-They Land, but I’m not.”  She softened.  “You say you want a great guy?”  She nodded towards where Adrien had just passed the school doors and was walking towards his limo.  “Go get him.”  

Marinette swallowed.  “What if he says no?”

“Then, after I _destroy him_ ,” Alya joked, “you’ll never have to speak to that boy again.  Oh, wait.  You already don’t.”

Marinette gave her a dirty look and stood up.  A second later, without warning, Alya’s arms shoved her into the oncoming path of one Adrien Agreste.

 

~~~

 

“Eeeeeeh!”  she wailed as she careened into the boy of her fantasies.  She was promptly reminded of how perfect he was, though, when he caught her in a fluid move that ended remarkably like a ballroom dip.

“Marinette!” he smiled.  “There you are.”

“Ahh…”  She was going to _kill_ Alya.  Who was currently making shooing motions at her from behind the wall.  “Can we chalk?  I mean chat?”   _Don’t think about Chat!_  “Uh, talk?”  She winced.

“Sure!  Give me one second.”  Adrien exchanged a few words with his driver before turning back to her and picking up her backpack.  “I’ll walk you home.”

She nodded furiously, heat rising to her cheeks.  Her tongue felt like it had gotten stuck in her throat, and for the first half the walk back to the bakery, she couldn’t manage anything other than the odd chipmunk impression.  Thankfully, Adrien remained gloriously patient, strolling along without pushing her into a conversation.

_Say something!  He probably already thinks you’re crazy!_

“So, um, I just, I was wondering, and you don’t have to, I’m sure you’re super busy, not that I know anything about your schedule, hahahahahaha!”   _Get it together, spaz_.  “Friday?”

“Friday.”  He faced her, something like amusement curling around his mouth.

“Movie?”

“Oh, yeah.  The new action rom-com, right?  Weren’t Nino and Alya talking about it at lunch?”

 _Crap_ .  They _had_ been talking about going to the movies as a group.  “Yep!”   _Way to blow it, Marinette._  “So…”  She cast around inside her head for a save.  “Ahhh!  Dinner?  Before?”

“Dinner and a movie?”  There it was again, his beautiful lips creating odd shapes and distracting her.

“Yeammh!”   _Now or never, girl,_ prompted her inner Alya.  “Like a date.”

“A date.”  He nodded.  “You want to go on a date with me.”

“Notlikeabigdeal!”  She let out every breath she’d ever held in the last two years, positive she must look like a cherry in a wig.  “But yeah, I would.  If you…  if that’s okay with you?”

He met her gaze.  “It is,” he said softly.  

Her heart soared.  It flopped to the edge of its nest, flapped its tiny bird wings, and lifted into the air for all of three seconds before the sound of Adrien’s throat clearing brought her back to ground.

His arms gripped the strap of his messenger bag.  “I need to tell you something first, though.”

She bit her tongue and waited, vibrating like a faulty toothbrush.

“It might change your mind about the date,” he warned.

“Never,” she breathed.  “I mean, never… feel bad!  About telling me things!  We’re friends, right?  Hahahahaaa…”

His brow furrowed as he reached out to squeeze her upper arm.  “I do want to go out to dinner.  You’re really fun to hang out with.  But I need to be honest with you.”  He hesitated.  “There’s a girl I like.”

 _What._  Marinette froze, her face twisted into a rictus grin as she thought of a response.

How was this her life?  Wasn’t she supposed to be lucky?  First Chat derailed her with all that talk about cute friends that she totally wasn’t jealous of, asking for separate patrols and _confessing his love_ and totally confusing her like the annoying cat he was, and now _this_?

“I’m not dating her!”  Adrien was saying.  “Haven’t even come close.  At all.  She, uh, she doesn’t see me the same way.”

This new information only baffled Marinette further, as she ran warp-speed through a list of their classmates and anyone Adrien seemed to interact with on a regular basis.  It couldn’t be Chloe.  If Adrien had ever shown the slightest hint of interest, Chloe would've hit that faster than a game show buzzer.   _Oh, crap on a cracker_.  Suddenly it all made perfect sense.  “Is she,” she eye-twitched, “older?  A model?”   _Married, maybe?_  There were only so many reasons someone would turn down Adrien Agreste.

His voice was pained.  “We… work together.”

“But you still, you…”  She swallowed, and in her panic, forgot to stutter.  “Why would you want to go out with me, then?”

The feeling of his thumb on her bicep was surreal.  “Exactly what I said, Marinette.  I have fun with you, and I’d really like to get to know you better.”

He seemed so earnest, like a tiny baby stingray plastered against the aquarium glass, showing off its smiling belly and just wanting to be loved.

She took a breath.  “Your friend, though.”

“She’s… I’m… I think I could get over her,” he said determinedly, but whether he was trying to reassure her or himself, Marinette couldn’t tell.  “I mean, apparently there was never really anything to _get_ over.  And so when you asked me out…”  He scratched at the back of his neck.  “We’re friends, and I like you, and it’d be nice to see you sometimes without Nino and Alya making out three feet away.  But I didn’t want to keep something like this from you.”  His eyes pierced hers, morning-green and somber.  “I understand if you take back your invitation.”

Her world crystallized into sharp focus at the prospect of Adrien bailing out.  Her hand flew to grip his as his shoulders slumped.

“I guess it is kind of a lot to deal with,” Adrien sighed dejectedly.  

“No!  It’s fine!  Ohmygodtotallyfine!”

Did he realize just how long she’d been hoping for a chance with him?  As if a little emotional baggage could scare her off.  She’d just turned down Chat so that she could ask out Adrien, and he thought some little story about a girl he worked with was going to derail her?   _Not a chance_.

“Really?”  And if she thought her heart had soared before, now it built a freaking rocket and jetted off into space, because Adrien Agreste was looking at her — _at her! —_  with a mixture of hope and amazement filling up his face.  And really, why would she ever say no to that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So there's kind of a huge hurricane coming through our area of the country, and it hits tomorrow. So the next update might take a minute, depending on what kind of complications arise. But hopefully you're still enjoying this!

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to at least start posting this before Reveal Week ended — I know pretty much where I’m going with this fic, and I do have a couple chapters already written, but it’s going to be a longer multichap than I’m used to. And as we all know, real life tends to eat up fanfic time, so I’m hoping that posting as I go will help motivate me to keep writing.  
> My plan is to put up a chapter every 2 or 3 days!  
> (This is unbeta’d. Please let me know if you spot a typo or quick-fix issue.)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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